The Right Risks
by friendsoftheabccafe
Summary: It's New Year's Eve at Camp Half-Blood, and everyone knows that a new year brings about new potential: potential to make big changes, fulfill resolutions, and, above all, take chances. Solangelo oneshot.


**I know I said I probably wouldn't write anything else after I finished "The Warmth of Your Love," but it's been a year since I read all of Heroes of Olympus and started reading Solangelo fanfiction. I felt it appropriate to celebrate with a new Solangelo one-shot, so here we are. I realize that it's technically past New Years now, but I figured it's close enough (besides, I once wrote a Halloween chapter in July, so I really don't care).**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! :)**

 **Disclaimer: All characters and places relating to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus series belong to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

"What do you mean you've never been at camp for New Year's Eve?"

Nico sighed at Will's outburst.

"Sunshine, you had the exact same reaction when I told you I had never spent Christmas here either."

"Yeah," Will replied. "And I promised to make sure you had the best Christmas ever, which I totally succeeded at. Right?"

Nico shrugged and stabbed his fork at the scrambled eggs on his plate. "It was okay." He earned himself a playful punch in the arm from Will. "Fine, so it was one of the best I can remember. Happy?"

"Not yet. Clearly my work isn't complete."

"You really don't have to obsess over this," Nico insisted.

Across the table, Percy stuffed his mouth with blue pancakes. "Nah, let him obsess," he said with his mouth full. "It's cute."

Will smiled at the son of Hades. "See? I'm cute."

Nico silently agreed with him.

Piper leaned forward over her plate. "Nico, what did you do for New Year's Eve last year?"

"I was in the Underworld," Nico responded. "Things are usually chaotic this time of year because people tend to act more stupid and get themselves killed."

Everyone at the Hades table stared at him.

Will placed his fork down. "Wow, you really know how to party it up, don't you, Death Boy?"

"You need to get out more," Leo commented, pointing his spoon at Nico.

"I already came out of the closet. What more do you want?"

Will nearly choked on his eggs. The entire table burst out into laughter.

Leo nodded slowly. "Touché, di Angelo."

"Okay," Will said after successfully swallowing his eggs, "you are _so_ going to the camp fireworks with me tonight."

Nico blushed. "W-with you?"

"Of course," Will replied. "Who else are you going to have loads of fun with?"

"Hmm." Nico quickly recovered, using sarcasm to quell his pounding heart. "I can think of, like, ten people I'd have more fun with than you…"

Will shook his head. "That's bullshit, and you know it." He leaned in closer to the boy beside him. "So, you, me, fireworks, yes?"

Nico managed a small nod. "Um, y-yeah. Sounds good."

The son of Apollo smiled victoriously. "Great! Now, I gotta get to the infirmary, so I'll see you all later!"

He grabbed his plate and stood up.

Percy rose as well. "Yeah, I have to get to the arena."

Almost everyone at the table followed suit and left to attend to various camp activities, leaving just Nico and Piper sitting alone.

Nico watched Will walk toward the infirmary.

"You're drooling," Piper teased, and he hastily peeled his eyes away.

"No, I'm not."

Piper smiled knowingly. "Cider?" She pushed her mug toward him.

Nico accepted it and took a few sips.

"So," Piper continued, "Did my ears deceive me, or did Will Solace just ask you out on a date?"

The son of Hades nearly dropped the mug. " _What_!? No, we're just going to the fireworks thing tonight."

"Together."

"It's a friend thing."

"Yeah, and when Jason and I make out in the armory, that's just a friend thing too."

Nico's face turned a bright shade of crimson. "Okay, one: that was way too much information for nine o'clock in the morning. Two: how does you and Jason making out equate to Will and I attending some stupid fireworks? And it's not a date! I don't even think he likes me that way."

Piper looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding? He's totally into you."

"That's ridiculous."

"You don't have to be a child of Aphrodite to see that. It's so obvious."

Nico eyed her suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

Piper sipped some of her cider. "Will looks at you like… Leo looks at Calypso." She gestured to her left.

Nearby Leo and Calypso walked hand in hand. Nico noticed how Leo gazed at her as they strolled, and his stomach did flips at the thought of Will peering down at him like that.

"I'd almost call it hopeless devotion," Piper commented.

Nico turned back toward her. "Wait—hopeless devotion?" Piper nodded. "Well… I guess that would explain why Will once sang me that song 'Hopelessly Devoted to You' from that one movie about car oil or something."

Piper slammed her mug down so hard that the handle broke off. "WHAT." Nico jumped at the sudden outburst. "First of all, the movie is called _Grease_. Second, Will sang 'Hopelessly Devoted to You,' and _you still don't think he's into you_?!"

"He sang it jokingly at one of those Apollo cabin karaoke nights!" Nico protested.

The daughter of Aphrodite sighed and shook her head. "Oh Nico, you poor, clueless child." He scowled at her. "Look, Will invited you to the fireworks with him. Those words may not have said 'hey, do you want to go out with me?', but his body language and facial expression definitely did."

Nico sat in silence for a bit, letting her words sink in. "Piper… the idea of being in a relationship with Will both excites and terrifies me."

"Why does it terrify you?"

"Because I'm afraid of fucking everything up."

Piper smiled at him. "Nico, I honestly believe that, unless you do something horrible like kill his mom, you won't mess things up. You two have gotten to know each other so well over the past five months, and I don't think I've ever seen you more comfortable with anyone else, besides Hazel."

"But what if—"

"Life is full of 'what ifs.' Sometimes you gotta take a risk in order to be happy." Piper slid her mug across the table. "Here, you can have the rest. I need to get back to my cabin, but please think about what I said, okay?"

Nico nodded. "I will. Thanks, Piper."

With one last smile, she headed out of the dining pavilion, leaving Nico to ponder his conflicted feelings over an almost empty mug of lukewarm apple cider.

* * *

"No! Absolutely not!" Will protested after Nico stopped by the infirmary later around noon to deliver the bad news. "There is no way you are going to the Underworld today! I forbid it!"

Nico crossed his arms. "Sunshine, I was summoned by my father… Hades… _Lord of the Underworld_. I don't think you can really override his command."

"But you can. Just tell him no."

"He needs my help," Nico said. "I haven't exactly been much help to him the past few months."

Will huffed. "That's because you've been recovering!"

"Well, I'm fine now, so I'm going to help him." Nico paused, noticing the disappointment all over Will's face. "I don't think the task he needs me to do will take very long. I'll be back by midnight, and we can still watch the fireworks… together."

The son of Hades turned to leave, but Will caught his hand. Nico thought his heart had stopped, and when Will's pleading blue eyes pierced his own dark ones, Nico was sure he forgot how to breathe entirely.

"Promise?" Will's voice was soft, barely above a whisper.

Nico almost melted right there, but somehow he managed to reply. "I promise."

Will let go of his hand, much to the secret dismay of both boys. Nico regained his composure as he left the infirmary, suddenly regretting his decision to agree to his father's request.

* * *

Ten minutes to midnight.

Will stood by himself, both hands shoved into his jacket pockets. All around him campers talked excitedly to one another, drank hot chocolate, or watched the fireworks that went off periodically, waiting for the grand finale that would come at midnight. Instead of joining in the festivities, Will spent the past few hours peering around, expecting a certain short, raven-haired boy to appear at his side.

However, a different raven-haired boy walked up to him, this one much taller than the one Will wanted to see.

"Hey, Will!" Percy greeted him, clapping him on the back. "Where's Nico? I thought he was coming with you."

"He was supposed to, but he had to take care of something in the Underworld."

Percy sighed. "Gods, that boy just doesn't know when to quit, does he?"

Will tried to mask the disappointment in his voice. "He said he would be back by midnight. He promised."

"He still has time," Percy pointed out, watching Will's face closely. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"But what if something happened? What if Nico got hurt or… worse?"

The son of Poseidon smiled at the other boy's concern. "Nico can handle himself. Don't worry."

Percy clapped him on the back again and left to sit by Annabeth. Will continued to look around, running a million terrible scenarios through his mind.

* * *

Two minutes to midnight.

Will was on the verge of a panic attack now, despite his usually calm manner. Nico was still nowhere to be found.

"Everybody get ready! It's almost midnight!" Leo shouted, the other Hephaestus kids preparing for the grand finale.

Will watched the excitement build in all of the other campers, but he felt none of it until…

"Hey."

The son of Apollo whipped around to see Nico standing there, clad in his jacket and a black knit hat. Before Nico could open his mouth to explain why he was almost late, Will pulled him into a tight hug.

"Death Boy, I was so worried!"

He released Nico, whose face was beet red. "I promised I'd be back by midnight, didn't I? It's technically not midnight yet."

Will smiled at him. "Still. You worry me." Then he noticed a bloody scratch on Nico's neck. " _What is that?!_ "

"It's just a scratch—," Nico started to protest, but Will's warm hand was already over the wound, and immediately he felt the pain subside. "Thanks."

"What happened?" Will demanded.

Nico shrugged. "A few tormented spirits escaped the Fields of Punishment. Sisyphus wasn't too keen on returning to his eternal torture… Can't say I blame him really."

Will chuckled. "I'm just glad you're okay. And that you showed up."

The beginning of a countdown snapped them back into their surroundings.

"10… 9… 8…!"

The two boys stood side by side, their arms brushing one another.

"7… 6… 5…!"

They joined in the countdown.

"4…3…2…1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Fireworks lit up the sky with color, and the entire camp cheered. Will watched Nico's face as he gazed up in awe, the light flickering off of his pale skin. Nico peered over, and Will looked away quickly to pretend as if he wasn't just staring at him.

"Sunshine," Nico said over the noise of the fireworks. "What's your New Year's resolution?"

"What?"

"Isn't that a thing people do? New Year's resolutions? You don't have to share yours with me if you don't want to."

Will stood in silence for a few seconds. He hadn't really given much thought to a resolution, but in that moment, he knew exactly what he hoped for the new year.

"I want to be braver," Will answered finally.

"Don't say that! You already are brave!" Nico responded immediately. "You see violence and death all the time, yet you never once think about quitting as a healer. So many others wouldn't be able to handle it, but _you_ can, and that takes a huge amount of bravery.

Will found himself grinning at Nico jumping to his defense. "Thank you, really. I guess what I mean is… I want to be braver in _other_ endeavors."

"Like what?" Nico noticed Will's hands starting to shake. "Are you okay?"

Will nodded and stuffed his hands back into his pockets. "Yeah, I'm just a little cold." Nico knew that wasn't true since Will never got cold, but he decided not to pursue it. "What about you, Death Boy? What's your New Year's resolution?"

The son of Hades paused. "I want to take more risks."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You do not need to take any more risks! That's how you almost became a shadow!"

Nico rolled his eyes but felt his heart pounding in his chest with every word Will said. "Okay, fine. I want to take the _right_ risks."

A comfortable silence fell over the two. After a minute of watching fireworks and the glee of everyone around them, both boys took a deep breath.

"Will, I—"

"Nico, I—"

Will laughed. "Sorry. You go first."

"Um," Nico felt his sudden resolve slipping away. Will's eyes traveled down to his hands.

"Now _your_ hands are shaking."

Nico shook his head. "I'm fine."

Will, however, grabbed Nico's hands in his own, letting his warmth seep into Nico's skin. "What did you want to say?"

"The past five months," Nico began, "No, that's a shit way to start this… Um, okay so… ever since my crush on Percy—nope, I should not bring up past crushes… let me just start over… uh, so I think I might—no, I _know_ I might—no, not might, I just know that… oh gods, this is going terribly." He took another breath, closed his eyes, and blurted it out. "I like you, Will. As more than a friend."

Nico opened his eyes, his heart threatening to fly right out of his chest. He expected to see a face of disgust, but instead he was met with Will's blinding smile.

"I was kind of about to say the same thing," Will responded.

Nico released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Really?"

"Well, I probably would have said it more eloquently."

"Bullshit," Nico countered. "Your hands are shaking as much as mine are right now."

Will chuckled before pulling Nico closer like he did earlier, but instead of embracing the other boy, he held Nico's face inches from his own.

"Is this okay?"

Nico nodded in Will's soft grip.

Slowly Will leaned forward, closing the small gap between them and pressing his lips against Nico's.

Behind them, campers applauded as the last of the fireworks filled the night sky, but the two boys were too caught up in their own bliss to take any notice even after they pulled apart. Will rested his forehead on Nico's, gazing into his mesmerizing eyes.

"Was that one of the 'right risks' you mentioned?" Will whispered.

"Maybe."

Will beamed, and Nico couldn't help but do so as well.

"So did I succeed? Did I make this the best New Year's Eve ever?"

Nico wrapped his arms around Will's neck. "If you kiss me again, I might say yes."

"Deal."


End file.
